Tonight I watched Sean "P. Diddy" Combs on Nightline. I was a big fan of his music in the 90's. It's always fun to see celebrities grow older and hear what they think about themselves and their place in the world. I was reading some tweets about him after the interview and came across words like rude, cheesy, self-important, no shame, and full-of-it. I can see how he comes across that way. The funny thing is that these opinions don't seem to bother him.

Even through all of that, I found 3 takeaways after listening to Martin Bashir's interview with him.

Your Spirit is different as you grow older.

Martin asked P. Diddy (paraphrasing), How do you enter your 40's as a hardcore gansta rapper?. He responded by saying that you don't do the same things because your Spirit is different. You can't do the same things when you are 40 that you did when you were 20. He gave an example from his music by saying that he now sings more about love. I agree with that with one caveat. It's not that you can't do the same things, it's just that sometimes it doesn't make sense to do the same things. You mature and your life changes, so you decide to let your Spirit drive you in a different way.

Even the most successful people feel like failures sometimes.

When asked about his 6 kids, P. Diddy admitted that he hasn't been the most successful at being a father. We often hold celebrities up to higher standards and expect them to be perfect at everything. They are obviously human too and run into some of the same challenges as non-celebrities. It was refreshing to hear that P. Diddy didn't think he was a perfect father. He has such a confident demeanor as an entrepreneur that it's easy to forget that he might have a vulnerable side when it comes to his personal life. I think we all have to be honest with ourselves and realistic about our ability to be a success in all areas of our lives.

Offer your brand to the world.

Martin Bashir closed the interview by saying that P. Diddy would now be going back to what he does best by offering his brand to the world. This isn't limited to celebrities. It's just that branding is more prominent when it comes to famous people and businesses. We all have a brand, a specific demeanor that is unique to us. Another name for it is our Personality. We shouldn't hide who we are to fit into someone else's mold. For example, P. Diddy doesn't worry about people thinking he's a megalomaniac. You don't have to go to that extreme, but just stay true to yourself.

From Leila: Donna Toothaker was my first virtual assistant (pun intended). Her business is called 1st VA and she helped me to launch my Spirit Driving teleclasses back in 2004. Her business has grown because she is a high achiever with great ideas. In this article, she provides some insight on challenges that high achievers face. I agree whole-heartedly. Enjoy!

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As creative, entrepreneurial people, we are often gifted with the world's greatest ideas. Our imaginations abound with business plans, information products, and new ways of marketing our services. So, why aren’t we acting upon, and manifesting all these brilliant dreams of ours? We're perfectly stuck, that's why.

We have high standards, and are high achievers. We also have the tendency toward perfectionism - wanting everything to be just "so" before we put it out into the world. The difference between being a high achiever and perfectionism is that high achievers relish the process of creating and manifesting something, and once they start they don't look back – they keep moving. Perfectionists, on the other hand, are focused solely on the goal, and are so driven to succeed – or rather, not to fail – that many times they don't even begin the creation process due to overwhelm.

How many people don't move forward with projects or in their business because they're waiting for things to be perfect, the perfect business name, domain, website, information product, program, the perfect timing... the list goes on. The sad truth is, if they just took action without waiting for perfection they'd be so much further in their business.

How do we move the perfection roadblock from out of our path to manifesting our dreams? Consider a few small things that can make a huge difference:

As perfectionists, we're our own worst critics. Nobody can possibly be scrutinizing you or your work as much as you are. Most imperfections we notice in our work are unimportant, or invisible, to others.
Small moves, made repeatedly, are better than one big effort. Just as we are told about the cumulative health benefits of short bursts of exercise, so do small actions add up to big gains in manifesting your ideas. What small action step can you do today - every day - to keep your dream in motion?

Mistakes can be springboards for success. No matter how seasoned you are in your business, you will make mistakes – even when things seem to be going smoothly. It's just a fact of life. And, often it is the larger mistakes that teach the most meaningful lessons. Learning from mistakes, and learning how to implement that knowledge immediately into your creative process can spring you more quickly toward achieving your goals, or launch you in a whole new direction.
Be kind to yourself. When mistakes do happen – and they will – be compassionate toward yourself. Practice positive self-talk, replacing name calling ("How could I be so STUPID") with self-encouragement ("Next time, I will slow down and be more careful so I don’t overlook important details.")

The bottom line is, while a desire to do well, to do your best work and to explore your full potential can give you sense of satisfaction and personal fulfillment, you have to learn when it is 'good enough'. Only then, will you be able to move forward with confidence and bring those brilliant ideas to life.

Donna Toothaker is CEO and founder of 1st VA the highly sought-after online marketing and consulting company. 1st VA specializes in providing online marketing support and services to entrepreneurs and solopreneurs who wish to effectively build or improve their online presence. To discover how 1st VA can help your business - visit http://www.1stva.com.

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